DISTRIBUTION OF THE HERMIT THRUSH 31 



bled him to perceive at once, though, somewhat inconsistently, 

 he goes on to quote Dr. Cooper's account in connection with 

 the Dwarf Thrush. We may without hesitation reject the 

 whole record as far as it bears upon an alleged breeding of the 

 Dwarf Thrush so far south, since there is no doubt that Dr. 

 Cooper's nests were really those of the Olive-backed Thrush, or 

 its variety ustulatus. Observations are wanting to determine 

 the case precisely, yet, remembering how strongly elevation of 

 surface affects the breeding-range of species, and that the 

 Dwarf Thrush is found in wooded mountainous tracts, we may 

 grant that it will probably be found to nestle much farther 

 south than its Eastern relative is known to do. I should not 

 be surprised if its dispersion during the breeding-season were 

 found very closely correspondent with that of the Varied 

 Thrush. 



Turning now to the better-known Hermit Thrush of the East, 

 that shy recluse whose lowly home has been often entered by 

 the curious naturalist, eager to learn its secrets, the first thing 

 that strikes us as bearing upon its furtive movements is the 

 lack of any trace of its presence in those subtropical regions to 

 which the Wood Thrush and the Olive-backed and others re- 

 sort in winter. We are not even sure that it takes the short 

 flight from Florida, a favorite home, to any of the West India 

 Islands. Though Dr. Gundlach, the veteran ornithologist of 

 Cuba, whose labors for many years have done so much to eluci- 

 date the birdrlife of that island, once recorded its presence 

 there, it seems that he had really another species in view. 

 Like the Catbird and the Thrasher, the Hermit Thrush finds 

 in the groves and swamps of the Southern States a winter 

 home so congenial that it need seek no further. Audubon in- 

 formed us many years ago of its abundance in Mississippi and 

 Louisiana; and later records, multiplying rapidly with the 

 growing number of those who are interested in the delightful 

 study of birds, not only confirm the statement, but extend its 

 applicability to most of the Southern States. I well remember 

 the admiration which this brave and hardy little bird used to 

 excite in me, when I was first trying my own wings in short 

 flights in ornithology, mostly confined to the vicinity of my 

 home at Washington, by its appearance, nothing daunted, dur- 

 ing the inclemency of October and March, whenits more delicate 

 relatives were far away. Its very slender, pale-colored legs, 

 like those of many other insect-eating birds which spend much 



